


Getting Sleepy

by MoldedMind



Category: Original Work
Genre: Hypnosis, Hypnosis treatment, Induction, Insomnia, Trance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27646390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoldedMind/pseuds/MoldedMind
Summary: Tess goes to Dr. Holly for help with her insomnia; Dr. Holly prescribes her an unorthodox treatment.
Kudos: 18





	Getting Sleepy

“So, the insomnia’s been going on for how long?” Dr. Holly asked, looking up from her clipboard to Tess. 

Tess was back to her tick, clenching and unclenching her right fist so hard that her nails were biting into the flesh of her palm. She was so exhausted it was one of the only things that worked to keep her awake. A cruel joke, really – she struggled to stay awake all day long, and when it was finally a reasonable hour to be sleeping, it was like a switch flipped, and she was completely alert for the next 8 hours. 

“About a month,” Tess said, stifling a yawn. She squeezed her nails into her hands harder to help fight it. 

“And you say that you’re very tired during the day, but at night you’re completely alert?” The doctor repeated.

“That’s right,” Tess affirmed, unable to stop the yawn this time.

“Well,” Dr. Holly said, closing her notepad and setting it on the counter. “What I’ll be prescribing in this case is a little unorthodox, but it’s shown a lot of promise with other patients.”

That sounded good to Tess. She perked up in her chair.

“I’m going to prescribe some hypnosis recordings,” Dr. Holly said, taking her pen and scribbling on a little piece of paper against her hand. “I don’t publicize it often, but I’m also a licensed hypnotherapist, and these are recordings I’ve made myself. If you play them at night when you want to go to sleep, they should do the trick.” She unclicked her pen, and passed the sheet of paper to Tess. Then she stood, reached into the cabinet behind her, and pulled out a CD.

She turned to Tess and gave her that too. 

Tess looked up at her with a quizzical expression on her face. “Hypnosis? Really? Does it… work?” 

Dr. Holly nodded. “It’s been shown to have nearly an 80% efficiency rate in cases such as yours. If you don’t believe me – I can show you right now.” 

“Right now?” Tess repeated stupidly.

Again, Dr. Holly nodded. “It would probably be beneficial anyway. You’ve been fighting to stay awake for so long… a quick nap, some actual sleep for that sleep deprived brain of yours could help to break the cycle you’re in and get you sleeping again on its own.”

“Alright, doctor. Whatever you say…” Tess said, not quite so convinced about this as Dr. Holly was. 

“Good, then we’ll begin. Please close your eyes,” she instructed, and reluctantly, Tess did. 

Having her eyes closed freaked her out – she was so exhausted, so close to falling asleep that she could feel herself already drifting away. She’d be asleep in seconds, and then she wouldn’t wake up, and this nightmare would only continue.

“You can feel how tired you are when you have your eyes closed,” Dr. Holly spoke. “It frightens you. You don’t want to sleep in the way your body is begging for. It isn’t the right time, you feel you must resist until the time is right.” 

Her voice had shifted from professional but friendly to something lower, and slower. Tess worried it would only put her to sleep faster.

“But, no matter how much you resist – your body knows what it wants,” Dr. Holly continued. “You can feel it, can feel the exhaustion beginning to take over and swamp you. Starting in the very heels of your feet and rising up like a wave through your body. There’s no holding it off any more.”

Tess was shocked to find it was true – all the sleep she’d been missing, dying for, desperate for, was here now, coming for her. She could feel that sweet kiss of relief, of oblivion, of regeneration rising in her – rising fast.

“And you know that in order to fall completely asleep, the wave has to reach your head.”

Tess nodded without thinking about it. That only made sense – it was her brain that needed to shut off, her brain that was always the problem.

“And when the wave reaches your neck, it stops and waits there.” 

So it did – to Tess frustration. She could feel what it was going to taste like to sleep, how that was going to feel, how good it would be.

“But there is something you must do if you want to sleep, Tess. You must listen to what I’m saying to you.”

Tess nodded again, eyes still closed. 

“Everything you are hearing right now from me is totally normal to you – nothing I say will seem strange or wrong.” 

Again, Tess nodded.

“If you want to sleep, you will go home from this appointment, and put the cd in. You will sleep a full 8 hours. It is only 12 pm currently, so you will wake up around nine in the evening. You will get up for 4 hours and do… some other activity, the CD will give you those instructions – then you will fall back asleep at 12 am, and sleep until 8 am. You will have no trouble sleeping at all – in fact, it will be so easy and effortless, you will sleep from 12 am to 8 am every night from now on, and always listen to the CD when you do. And it will work so well for you, that in about a month, you’ll want to come and thank me personally. Again, the CD will have further instructions for you there.”

Tess could physically feel Dr. Holly’s words slipping into her mind. They all sounded so true – they all made so much sense. 

“I’m going to wake you in a minute. When I do, your conscious mind will not remember any of the instructions I’ve given you – but your subconscious will remember very well, and follow them to the letter.”

Tess found herself nodding again.

“And wake.”

Immediately Tess opened her eyes. “Wow… that was easier than I thought,” she remarked.

“Sleep and hypnosis are closely linked,” Dr. Holly said with a smile. “It’s very easy to slip from one to the other – in your extreme exhaustion, you were quite easy to induce.

“Well, thank you, Doctor,” Tess said, with a smile. She didn’t know why, but she wasn’t so worried any more. This CD was definitely going to work, she knew it. She was going to sleep again. In fact, she was so sure it would work, she thought she would listen to it once when she got home… a little nap might be in order.

“My pleasure, Tess,” Dr. Holly said, returning her smile. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon. And I can’t wait to see how well the treatment has worked.”

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr.](https://moldedmindupdates.tumblr.com)


End file.
